The History of Our Pipe Organ

The organ in the sanctuary was designed by the late Lawrence Phelps and custom built by Casavant Freres Limitee of St. Hyacinths, Quebec, Canada in 1962 at a cost of $34,000 for the new building of First Reformed Church. The installation and tonal finishing of this instrument took five weeks. It was dedicated in a recital played on Tuesday, January 1, 1963 by the late Dr. Cyril E. Barker, Minister of Music at Central Reformed Church in Grand Rapids. (See a copy of the 1963 recital program below.)

The original console contained three manuals and pedal board, with 36 draw-knobs and 12 couplers to control stops. The console was equipped with a mechanical combination action, which allowed the organist to preset stops and couplers, to effect rapid tonal changes during a performance.

When new, the organ contained 37 ranks (sets of pipes) ranging from the largest Pedal pipes to the smallest Flautino pipe with a speaking length of only ¾ of an inch. In 1984 the late Roger Davis of Hope College made tonal improvements in several of the ranks and at the same time added the 16’ Sub Bass (wood pipes) to the Pedal and a tremulant to the Positiv manual. Except for the 8’ Kleinheksel Trumpet, the organ is under 2¼” of wind pressure.

The 8' Kleinheksel Trumpet was added in 1988. This rank contains 61 horizontally mounted pipes made of solid brass with a high luster finish. It was manufactured by Trivo, Inc. of Hagerstown, Maryland and installed by Robert Dial of Springfield, Illinois and Leslie Peart, who at the time was the Minister of Music at Central Reformed Church in Grand Rapids. It is under 6½” of wind pressure.

A portable Zimbelstern was acquired in 1996. The word zimbelstern means “cymbal-star”. The original zimbelsterns were in the shape of a star with high-pitched cymbals or bells at each point. As the star turned, the bells hit stationary clappers. Our Zimbelstern has nine stationary bells that are hit by moving clappers.

The original console had the ability to play the tower bells, not only outside but inside as well. When the tower bell system was replaced, the new system could no longer be controlled by the console. That meant we lost the use of the chimes. Two digital stops were added in 1999 by Donald Haan of Grand Rapids, Michigan. One was in the Pedal division and had 30 different sounds from which to choose. The other was located on the Positiv manual with speakers in the Swell box and in the back of the balcony. This stop had 60 different sounds including Chimes.

After over 50 years of use, the organ had developed several problems. The original console was showing its age and three of the reed ranks were in need of revoicing or replacement. In early 2016 a committee was formed to address these issues. The decision was made to revoice the 8’ Kleinheksel Trumpet so that its sound would blend better with the other pipes. This was completed in April of 2016. It was also decided to replace two ranks of reeds that had been problematic since the organ was new. The 16’ Posaune in the Pedal and the 8’ Krummhorn in the Positiv division were not very pleasant sounding and would not stay in tune more than a week after tuning. The new 8’ Krummhorn stop was built by Trivo, Inc. and was installed the first week of November 2016. The new 16' Posaune in the Pedal division, also built by Trivo, Inc., was installed in August of 2017.

The combination action on the original console did not always work properly, and the keys and pedals made clattering noises when played. In addition, there have been many new advancements in organ console design since 1962 that this console lacked. To update and refurbish the old console meant that we would have been without the organ for several months while the work was done. The cost was about the same as getting a new console, and getting a new console meant that we would only be without the organ for a week. It was decided to obtain a new state of the art four manual console from the Rodgers Organ Company in Hillsboro, Oregon. The total cost of this project was $172,800 paid entirely through donations from the congregation.

The new 4 manual console was delivered on September 26, 2016 and was installed and voiced by David Lee of Classic Organs in Grand Rapids. It has 84 moving drawknobs and 19 couplers that control all of the 39 ranks of pipes as well as 443 digital voices. The solid state combination action has 99 levels of memory. It also has a built in record/playback system allowing the organist to hear how the music sounds out in the sanctuary.

The console, located in the center of the choir loft at the front of the sanctuary, had always been hidden from view of the congregation by a tall V-shaped wall. A restructuring of the chancel in July 2013 included a change in that wall so that it could be opened when desired. Now the wall is opened for special occasions and concerts allowing the congregation to view the console and the organist.

This beautiful instrument, after more than 50 years, continues to help lead the musical portions of worship each Sunday with its bright and gorgeous sounds. Soli Deo Gloria!

Click on the program to enlarge.

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